


Knife's Edge

by SightlessSam



Category: Antisepticeye - Fandom, Darkiplier - Fandom, Warfstache - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Antisepticeye Sean McLoughlin, Darkiplier - Freeform, Markiplier - Freeform, Other, antisepticeye, jacksepticeye - Freeform, warfstache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 16:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14382396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SightlessSam/pseuds/SightlessSam
Summary: Jack is excited to meet Mark for the first time. Their friendship seems perfect, but Mark has a secret. Can Jack and Mark's friendship survive? Or will it tear them apart?





	1. Red Meets Green

Jack was nervous enough getting on the plane, but arriving in Los Angeles shot his nerves up even more. He kept a screenshot of the proposal on his phone, and just kept looking at it over and over between watching videos of Markiplier, the man who had inspired him to do what he did. As the door to the plane finally opened, he shoved his mostly dead phone in his pocket and made his way out through the terminal. 

He was tired, jet-lagged, and hungry. The first thing on his mind was food, and he had to take a piss. Stepping out of the terminal, the airport opened up to him like a huge mall. He smiled through his fatigue, and felt new energy creeping in. The first thing he spotted was a restaurant called the Daily Grill. He supposed it wouldn’t be the best, but food was food at that point. 

“Shit, I need to pee,” he complained, “And my bags! I need…”

Jack was a little flustered on what to do first. The baggage was likely arriving later, so he headed towards the closest restroom first. As he made his way in, he heard a few people whispering excitedly. Was it really him? Was it really the green bean? 

Jack ignored them, but only because he really had to go to the bathroom. When he came back out, he found them standing there still, wide-eyed. He grinned, and began to walk past them just to see if they would say anything.

“Jack?” one of them called timidly. “Jack… Septiceye?”

It was the best rush ever. People were starting to recognize him! He perked up and said, “Oh hey there! What’s your name?”

“Jace!” said the dark skinned, tall kid as he extended a hand. “This is my girlfriend Laura!”

Laura was a lighter skin tone, with shocking red hair and thick glasses, freckles all over her face. She was absolutely adorable, but she looked stressed out. They both were, so Jack was happy to greet them in hopes that he could make them a little happier.

“What are you here for?” Laura asked, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you!”

“I’m just meeting a few friends is all,” said Jack. “What about you two?”

The smile instantly dropped from Laura’s face, and she replied, “Oh… Well, my grandmother isn’t doing so well… Jace hasn’t met her yet, so we thought it would be nice for her to meet him before she… goes…”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” said Jack, extending his arms to the both of them.

Laura bravely fought back a few tears as Jack hugged them both. Her eyes rimmed with red, she still managed to let out an excited squeak.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” said Jack. “Make as many happy moments as you can with your grandmother before she goes, okay? And never forget the good things she taught you. It won’t be easy all the time, but you’ll both be okay.”

“Thanks,” said Jace, since Laura had become too choked up to speak.

“You’re welcome,” said Jack. “Take care of each other, okay?”

“We will,” said Jace, slipping an arm around Laura.

Jack looked around then and said, “Well, I hate to be mean, but I can’t hang out for long…”

“No, that’s okay!” said Laura, “You have places to go! And so do we. I’m just.. Thank you.”

“No, thank you!” said Jack, giving her one last hug. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for people like you!”

A few more exchanges of thanks happened, and Jack managed to pull away and make his way down towards the restaurant. He always felt a little awkward walking away, never sure how to say goodbye to people he didn’t know, especially when he wanted to stay a little longer. He felt bad he couldn’t do more for either of them, but he had to trust that everything would be okay eventually.

Jack made his way up to the restaurant, and was surprised to see it was an actual sit-down place with a bar. Once he was seated and had a chance to order, he pulled out his phone and checked his messages. 

 

_ Mark: Hey let me know when you get in, okay? We’ll rescue you from the airport. _

 

Jack grinned at the prospect of being rescued. He replied back:  _ Help! I’m at Daily Grill, and they’re serving me hamburgers and chips and beer! It’s awful! _

 

Before he knew it, a small, but juicy burger and fries were set down in front of him with his beer. Jack knew he was hungry, but he didn’t know how hungry until he began to slam into his burger. The food on the flight had been okay, but high altitudes made everything taste bland, and he hadn’t finished his food partially due to his nerves.

 

_ Mark: Chips? You mean like potato chips? Or like french fries? _

 

Jack rolled his eyes.

 

_ Jack: You crazy Americans and your “french” fries! _

 

_ Mark: Hey I’m not the one who invented them! We’re on our way, just to let you know. _

 

_ Jack: I’ll be here eating my tiny, overpriced, very late lunch. And my chips! _

 

The rest of the meal was thankfully uneventful. Most people sat watching sports at the bar or talked amongst themselves. The waitress had no clue who he was, but she kept checking on him, trying to strike up conversation, at one point admitting that she loved “Scottish” accents, which Jack pointed out that it was Irish.

The waitress was so flustered with embarrassment afterwards that when she came back with the bill, she couldn’t look him in the eye, but she sure tried to keep up the friendly conversation with him, which he obliged.

Jack left a hefty tip regardless. He knew she was likely just stressed and honestly didn’t know the difference. He didn’t think any less of her for it.

Once he paid the bill, he made his way to baggage claim, texting Mark along the way to find out where along the mile long terminal they would meet.

“Well I’m by the big water fountain,” said Jack.

“Which one? There’s like twelve!” Mark exclaimed

“I dunno!” Jack shrugged dramatically, “The one with the colour changing lights?”

“They all have lights!”

“Oh for fook’s sake… AAAAHHMMM…” Jack looked around for another clear marker. As he tried to think of one, he felt a pat on his shoulder, and a familiar voice said, “You say ‘um’ funny.”

Jack whipped around to see a pair of brown eyes smiling out from behind shocking red bangs, and a smile that could disarm any bad day.

“Mark!” Jack nearly choked with excitement.

“Jack!” Mark replied as he swooped in for a hug. “Or do you prefer Sean?”

“Jack is fine!” he answered as he squeezed Mark. “It’s so good to meet you! In real life I mean! I mean, you’re really real! Oh my god, I swore I wouldn’t fanboy…”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Mark, brushing it off, “Hey! And this is Ethan!”

The shy, blue-haired kid lifted a hand for a handshake, but when he saw Jack sliding forward, arms open, he went for it, giggling nervously.

“Hello!” said Ethan.

“That’s right!” Mark proclaimed, “We’re men! We hug, goddammit!”

“I like hugs!” said Ethan.

“So do I,” said Jack, “But you know what I like even more?”

“What’s that?” asked Ethan.

“Breathing!”

“Oh, sorry!” Ethan pulled away, and Jack faked a gasp for air.

“Alright you kids, enough bromance,” said Mark. “Bob and Wade are back at the house with Felix. I don’t like to leave them alone for long, they tend to start plotting my demise and Bob isn’t house-broken yet.”

Mark grabbed Jack’s bag for him, and began down the path with Ethan trailing close behind like a little brother. It was so surreal to Jack to see Mark and Ethan in real life in front of him like that.

“Hey…” 

Mark had turned around and was looking to Jack. Poor Jack snapped out of his daydream, blinking to make sure it all was real.

“You coming?”

Jack grinned, and followed the two through the crowd. He was floating the whole way.

  
  


The car ride was a couple of hours filled with loud singing, a trip through a drive-through for more food (because the burger Jack had just didn’t cut it), several jokes about chicken nuggets and where to store them for snacking on later, and Ethan eventually passing out, his head flopped against Jack, complete with snoring and a little drool. Mark tried to wake Ethan and apologized several times, but Jack insisted it was fine, and that he’d remember to bring a burp rag next time for the big baby.

Jack ended up falling asleep as well, anyway. His head leaned against the window at an awkward angle, he didn’t wake up again until the car hit a bump that caused him to knock his head against the glass.

“Sorry!” Mark loudly whispered, “We’re home!”

Shaking off the sleep confusion, Jack yawned and stretched, bumping into Ethan who was lifting his head from Jack’s shoulder. Ethan’s eyes went wide at the site of the wet stain on Jack’s sleeve.

“Oh my god!” Ethan cried out sleepily.

Before he could apologize, Jack waved it off and said, “Relax, it’s a spare shirt. A little soap and water and I’ll be fine. Everyone drools in their sleep!”

“Oh my god,” said Mark, pointing to the townhouse window. There they were, Felix, Bob and Wade, hands and faces pressed against the windows, Bob with his tongue out, all of them acting like excited dogs, panting and drooling on the window.

“See?!” said Jack, motioning to the window, “Everyone drools!”

Jack and Ethan were already rolling with laughter. Mark was laughing, but he was also scolding the men for messing up his window before he even got out of the car.

“Bad boys!” Mark scolded, playing along, “Down! No! I swear, Bob, if you messed on the floor again…”

The three of them made their way out of the window and moved to the front door, all of them hustling out one after the other to meet the new person. Jack was suddenly surrounded by people he’d only ever met online. On the one hand it was a little nerve-wracking, but on the other hand, he at least knew who they were; Sort of.

There was a lot of handshaking, hugging, and apologizing for more drool. It seemed to be a theme for the day. They all shuffled into the house, with Felix declaring he couldn’t stay all night, and Wade immediately offering more food in the form of pizza rolls and Mozzarella Sticks. Ethan shuffled past everyone with Jack’s bag and put it in one of the rooms. Jack tried to protest and insisted he could move his own bags, but Ethan, being as nice as he was, did it anyway with Jack thanking him all the way down the hall.

“I’ll just stick it in my room for now,” said Ethan, “If you need anything, it’s in here. This is my room! Well, it’s a guest room, but it’s where I’m staying until I get my own place.”

“That’s nice of Mark to let you stay here,” Jack mentioned.

“Yeah,” said Ethan in an oddly sober tone. “It’s… different staying here.”

Ethan gave Jack a smile, but something about the way he smiled was a little off. Before he could ask what he meant by ‘different,’ Mark popped his head into the room and said, “Mario Kart!”

“I wanna be Princess Peach!” Ethan called as he darted out the room.

Mark looked to Jack and asked, “You alright? Enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah,” said Jack, “I just… I’m jet lagged I guess.”

“Take a nap if you need,” said Mark. “My room as at the end of the hall. It’s the quietest room in the house, but that’s not really saying much.”

“And miss out on Mario Kart?!” Jack exclaimed, “Just get me a caffeine drip and I’ll be fine! SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!”

“That’s the spirit!” said Mark. “Come on.”

Jack made his way out of the room ahead of Mark, who lingered behind for a moment. Mark let the smile drop from his face, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He glanced down at his hand, and saw a few hairs had fallen out. His eyes lingered over the hairs, the bright red strands twisted amidst his fingertips, except for one. In the center of his palm was a single strand, paler than the rest. Mark looked down at it more closely, and his brow pinched with worry.

“You coming?”

Mark jumped slightly. Jack had come back and was peeking around the doorframe at him, those big, blue eyes curious and now slightly concerned.

“You alright?” Jack asked.

“Yeah I just…” Mark forced a smile. “I’m glad genetic baldness isn’t in my DNA. Losing hair is normal, but at the rate I tend to lose it, I’m surprised I’m not bald at all by now!”

“You have like… a ton of hair,” said Jack. “I doubt you’ll be bald in the next thousand years or so.”

“Must be the Korean genes,” he mumbled to himself.

“Come on, don’t worry about it!” said Jack. “We got a princess to crush!”

Mark smiled and said, “Yeah, let’s go crush a peach!”

Mark flicked his hand to be rid of the random hairs, and wandered out of the room behind Jack. The crimson red hairs floated down gently, landing unnoticed on the carpet. Among them, a single, bright pink strand.


	2. Other Voices

“SON OF A BIIIITCH!” Mark screamed as he tossed the controller for the fourth time. 

“Taken down once again by the Princess!” Ethan shouted in glee.

The blue boy was grinning as smugly as he could, a glittering tiara on his head that he had dug out of a pile of props.

“Someone smash him!” Mark demanded.

“On it!” Jack called over the laughter.

It was Jack, Felix, Ethan, and Mark playing the twelfth round of Mario Kart. Mark had been blown up again by Ethan who was currently being ganged up on by Felix and Jack. 

“Come back here!” Jack shouted as he sped up next to Ethan. Jack jerked his controller left, but Ethan slammed on the breaks last second, causing Jack to run into Felix, which knocked him off the track.

_ “Men det va då fan!!!” _ Felix cried out, as his car slipped and slided.”Get him, Jack!”

“I’m trying!” said Jack, “But he’s pure, adorable evil!”

Jack tried to catch back up with Ethan, but he spat out a turtle shell, knocking Jack out of the running just moments before Ethan passed the checkered flag.

“I win!” Ethan shouted with delight. “Hooray!”

_ “Förbövelen!”  _ Felix shouted, “Fucking…  _ Jävla! Fitta!” _

“I’m the prettiest princess!” Ethan said, dancing around. 

“Nice one!” said Jack, “Oh but lord I need a break!”

“I need to piss,” said Felix, “And then I need to head out. God, what time is it even?”

“It’s about 2am,” said Wade, checking his phone.

“Oh shit!” Felix spat, “Yeah I need sleep!”

“Awww, look at Bob, he’s already asleep,” Ethan pointed out.

Bob was curled up like a baby on the couch, pillow under his head, continuing the drool theme with a line of it at the corner of his mouth. Ethan got up and grabbed a nearby blanket, and tucked Bob in where he laid. Jack had to admit it was pretty adorable, and he could see why Ethan was like the little brother of the group.

Felix made his rounds, shaking hands with Ethan, then Wade, then Jack. He walked over to Bob, and very gently planted a kiss on his forehead as a joke, whispering “Goodnight, fair princess!”

Ethan instantly took the tiara off his head and placed it gently on Bob. Everyone whipped out their phones and took a picture, laughing and promising to show him later for the sake of blackmail.

“Okay I’m done, I’m out!” said Felix. 

The Swede made his exit. Wade yawned and said, “I think I’m going to go to bed, too.”

Jack glanced around the room, and realized that Mark had gone missing.

“Anyone seen Mark?”

Wade and Ethan both paused, and glanced to each other. Was that a nervous look Jack saw between them?

“Probably in the basement,” said Wade, “Doing laundry.”

“At this hour?”

“Hey, it’s a good a time as any if you don’t have underwear for tomorrow!” Wade replied, hands up. “Come on, don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine.”

“You can sleep in my room,” said Ethan, “I have a cot that pulls out from under my bed! We can be bunk buddies!”

“Sure,” said Jack, but he wasn’t so sure. He let Ethan pull him along, but he had to wonder what Mark was up to. Jack just shook his head and decided it was best to let it be. It probably was just laundry after all.

Jack stood patiently by while Ethan went about putting a bed together, pulling extra blankets from the closet. He nearly stumbled over at one point, and Jack had to practically catch him and the blankets to keep both from falling. Ethan was a little embarrassed, but Jack kept telling him it was okay. Soon the bed was made all neat and nice, so Jack stripped down to his underwear shamelessly, and jumped in, immediately messing it up which made both of them laugh. Ethan reached over and clicked his light off. Only a subtle glow from the street light accented the darkness just enough to remind them the world wasn’t pure blackness.

“I’ll try not to step on you in the middle of the night,” said Ethan.

“If you do, just don’t step on my balls,” Jack replied.

“Deal,” said Ethan as he rolled over.

They tried to chat a little longer with each other, but Ethan was out like a light before long, and Jack didn’t want to poke him back awake just for company. So he laid there, staring up at the subtle glow along the ceiling where the street light came through the window, and tried to sleep. He thought that after being awake for so long he’d be exhausted, but the nap in the car had given him a boost, along with enough caffeine for the rest of the year. He was used to being up this early anyway. And where the hell was Mark? He didn’t hear him come up, and it had been a couple hours by now.

Jack was concerned. Quietly, he got up, and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from his bag. After pulling them on, he made his way down the hall, one foot at a time, feeling his way along the wall. It was dark in there; more so than he expected. They could have at least plugged in a nightlight or something!

Quietly, he crossed the living room. Or at least he tried to be quiet, but he banged his knee against the edge of the couch, hitting the wooden part of it. Jack bit back a curse or four, and grabbed his knee, rubbing out the pain. Once he was sure everyone was still asleep, and the only thing broken was his pride, he reached out and began to feel along the wall towards the basement.

It was as he was feeling along the wall that he noticed something peculiar. There was not street light even in the living room. With all the windows in there, he should have at least seen a decent amount of light coming through the windows in the living room. Did the power go out on the whole block or something?

_ “You know I’m much better at handling these sorts of things…” _

Jack heard Mark’s voice downstairs. He was speaking with a strange, cold tone in his voice as if he was doing business with someone.

“ **_Well go ahead and try then!_ ** ” he heard Mark say next, but in a sloppier, more oddly accented voice that sounded slightly drunk.  **_“See if I give a ssshit!”_ **

Then he heard Mark grunt, like he was struggling. Then a loud bang as if a body had landed hard against something. Panic set in, and Jack grabbed the basement door knob and yanked the door open. Light flooded his eyes, but he could see just enough to take the staircase down quickly.

Mark was on the ground next to the dryer. Jack knelt down and began to check Mark over. Mark groaned, his eyes half open.

“Mark!” Jack called, “Oh dear god, please tell me you’re alright!”

“Must have slipped,” said Mark.

“You hit your head! You probably have a concussion!”

Mark’s eyes opened wide, and he sat up too quickly for Jack’s liking. Jack scolded him, but Mark began looking around frantically. He turned to Jack and grabbed his shoulders, looking him up and down.

“Are you alright?” Mark asked.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?!” Jack retorted.

“I’m fine,” said Mark. “I didn’t hit my head. I promise.”

Jack leaned back and crossed his arms, completely unconvinced. He glanced over and noticed the dryer door was open, no clothes in it. The washer was empty as well.

“What’s going on?” Jack demanded.

“I… I must have been more tired than I thought,” said Mark. “Fell asleep…”

Jack stood up and pointed at the open dryer and said, “You don’t even have laundry down here! What’s going on? I’m not starting my friendship off this way with you! Ethan and Wade gave me a weird look when I asked where you were. Now what’s up?!”

“You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you!” Mark confessed as he stood.

“At least give me a chance! You invited me here. You obviously like me enough to want to be my friend. So let me be your friend! If you’re having a problem, let me know! I might not be able to fix it, but maybe I can at least…” Jack took a deep breath, and sobered up his tone to finish: “... I can at least be there for you.”

The two shared the silence that followed, each looking the other in the eye, trying to read what was past them. Was Jack being genuine? Was Mark going to tell the truth? Jack remained patiently still, waiting for an answer, his body language unthreatening, but unyielding at the same time. Mark fidgeted, obviously at war with himself.

“I…” Mark struggled to get the words out. “I uh… I have a condition.”

“Condition?” Jack was concerned.

“Yeah…” said Mark, leaning against the dryer. “It’s like… multiple personality. Uh… they call it Dissociative Identity Disorder now I think.”

“Oh I see,” said Jack. “Well that’s not a big deal, I guess.”

Mark replied, “But it is. The other two, they… They’re not so nice.”

“Well then, we’ll deal with it. But I’m not just going to stop being your friend because of this, okay?”

“Thanks,” said Mark. “Bob and Wade and Ethan… and all the others we’ll be seeing tomorrow… they’re my friends, but… But they keep their distance, and I don’t blame them.”

“I’ll adapt, but I won’t give up on you,” Jack assured him. Then he paused and said, “Wait… what others are we seeing tomorrow?”

“Oh didn’t I tell you?” said Mark, perking up with a big grin. “We’re going to Disneyland!”

“WHAT?!” Jack screamed.

“Happy Birthday!” said Mark.

“Oh my god,” said Jack, “You’re… Thank you. Can I hug you?”

Mark opened his arms, and pulled Jack into a hug. 

“Come on, we need sleep. Tomorrow is a big day.” Mark pulled away from the hug, and brought his friend upstairs. As Jack passed back through the living room, he noticed the light coming through the windows, casting long lines across the room, bathing it in a soft glow.

“Lights must have come on,” he whispered quietly.

Mark paused abruptly, and glanced over his shoulder. “What did you say?”

“The whole living room was dark earlier,” Jack said softly. “The lights must have come on as soon as I opened the basement door, now that I think of it.”

“I see,” said Markiplier as he continued through the hallway. “You should be more careful when the lights go out.”

Jack stopped at his door, but Mark continued down to his room. There was something about the way Mark was walking that made Jack pause. The tone in his voice was a little deeper. Mark opened his door and looked back to Jack. The light cast him in odd monochrome hues, his eyes cast in shadows.

“You can get lost in the dark.”


	3. Threatening Smile

Disneyland was absolutely bonkers. Jack had never had so much fun in his life. It was only one day, but they had gotten VIP passes in order to skip lines. Everyone was running on a few precious hours of sleep, but nobody cared. There was so much energy buzzing around that everyone could have kept going for three days straight. More people who worked or were friends with Mark had showed up. Jack could barely remember their names at the time, but they were all excellent people.

Jack had almost completely forgotten about the incident last night. It was as if there wasn’t any problem at all with Mark. He considered it a few times while they were running around the park, but there was always something to distract him. By the end of it all they were hot, sweaty, exhausted, and had cotton candy stuck to weird places. It had still been too cold for the water park rides, but nobody cared. There were so many pictures taken that Jack knew he had a huge task ahead of him to sort them out. Several had gone straight to his Instagram and Twitter.

“That was the craziest day!” he cried out as they made their way from the trolley to their parking spot. “Okay, who’s riding with whom?”

“Same as last time, “ said Mark. “Okay everyone, we’ll see you all at the hotel!”

The group split up taking a number of cars home. Bob and Wade offered to go with Ken in his van since there was more room, and they had a lot of stuff with them. Jack yelled “Shotgun!” and managed to get the passenger seat in Mark’s car. Ethan was fine with that. He had an oversized, overpriced Mickey Mouse plush that he was ready to use as a pillow. He was already half asleep, face smudged with a glittery temporary tattoo.

“An hour to the hotel,” said Mark as he slid into the car. “We could have made it home tonight but… I didn’t feel we all needed to drive that far this late.”

“It will be nice,” said Jack. “I’m exhausted anyway. How about you?”

Mark just smiled, and started up the car. “Definitely worth every minute. It’s rare I get to do things like that.”

“You should do it more often!” Jack told him.

“I would, but… my condition…”

“You did alright today,” Jack mentioned. “I didn’t notice anything weird happening to you. You were just… yourself. As far as I could tell.”

“Yeah,” Mark replied, “You’re right. Thank you… for everything.”

“Everything?” asked Jack.”I haven’t done much.”

“You’re my friend,” Mark explained. “You trust me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bob and Wade and Ethan, but… I can tell they’re a little nervous around me sometimes.”

“Maybe they just don’t know how to handle the information?” Jack suggested.

“Or maybe you haven’t known me long enough to know…”

Mark trailed off, but Jack wouldn’t let him finish his thought anyway, so he said: “Look, just because you’re different in your brain pan doesn’t make you a bad person. And don’t let those sort of thoughts get you down, okay? Here and now is what is important. Today was a good day. Focus on that. Maybe it will help? I don’t know how this multiple personality thing works, so I can’t help much. But I think focusing on the good things will help at least.”

Mark’s eyes were on the road, but his thoughts lingered. Jack watched the gears turn in Mark’s mind. He smiled after a minute, and patted Jack on the shoulder. Although his eyes still held worry, his smile was genuine.

“Thank you,” said Mark. 

The rest of the car ride was silent, aside from the snoring that came from Ethan in the back, and the occasional ping from a message on Jack’s phone, and Mark’s phone occasionally giving him directions. The hour went by quickly, and when they reached the hotel, the others had already gone in and gotten a room. Mark checked his messages to see that Aaron had already reserved a room for him, but he wasn’t sure if Jack and Ethan wanted separate rooms so he just got a room with a bedroom, and they could upgrade if needed.

With a smug grin, Mark turned to Jack and asked, “So there’s only one bedroom. Feel like kicking Ethan out and spooning?”

Ethan snorted, slapping a hand to his mouth. Jack just grinned wide and said, “Or he could join us!”

“Oh my god, no!” Ethan turned bright red. “I’m told I kick in my sleep anyway.”

“Looks like it’s just you and me, stud,” said Jack, slipping an arm around Mark.

The three of them burst out laughing, and chuckled the whole way into the hotel, making inappropriate remarks to each other, partially to try and scare the host behind the desk, but he ended up being gay anyway, so even the host got a good chuckle out of them.

“Come on, puddin’ pop,” said Mark to Jack. “Let’s go get some sleep. We’re very obviously running on empty.”

The group had managed to get the run of rooms down through the ninth floor. Mark’s room was 915. A nice room in the corner of the hotel with the extra bedroom.

“Honey, I’m home!” Ethan called as he stumbled in sleepily ahead of Mark and Jack.

“Coming?” Mark asked.

“Aren’t you going to carry me over the threshold, darling?” Jack teased.

Mark rolled his eyes and gave Jack a good shove. Jack staggered into the room, and looked around. It was a spacious room, complete with a living room area open to a very tiny kitchen that even had a stove, fridge, and cabinets. Jack tossed his overnight pack aside and began scrounging through the kitchen to see what was there. They had pots and pans and a few dishes, a coffee pot, with a small bag of ground coffee, and a box of tea.

“Ooh! Tea!” Jack said gleefully, “Mark, you want a cup of tea before bed?”

“Nah, I’m good,” said Mark, “But thanks!”

“How about you, Princess Ethan?” Jack turned to Ethan, but he was already snoring away on the couch, his arms and legs both thoroughly locked around his oversized plush.

“That kid is adorable,” said Mark. “I’ll throw a blanket on him.”

Mark went about getting a blanket while Jack fixed himself some tea. He barely got a sip into it before Mark came out of the bedroom and said, “Well… looks like we really are spooning tonight. There’s only one bed in there.”

“Oh jaysus,” said Jack, peeking in. “It’s like a bad plot to a Septiplier fanfic. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Relax,” said Mark, “It’s not the first time I’ve had to crawl into bed with another guy.”

Jack nearly spat his tea. Mark rolled his eyes and said, “Not like that! Look, I’m not letting you sleep on the ground! That bed is huge. There’s plenty of room without the need to cuddle. I’ll stay on my side of the bed, I promise. We can throw some pillows between us if it makes you more comfortable.”

Jack just shrugged and said, “I don’t care. Fuck toxic masculine stereotypes!”

“That’s the spirit!” Mark exclaimed.

Jack finished his tea, and the two got ready for bed. They decided that Mark would shower then, and Jack would shower in the morning. Jack crawled into his side of the bed while Mark was getting his shower. Jack went through his ritual of plugging his phone in, getting his glass of water, and brushed his teeth with one of the disposable toothbrushes so as not to bother Mark in the shower. He crawled into his side of the bed with his own blanket, and curled up tight, tucking the blanket under his chin. Soon, the hush of the shower running began to send him drifting off. He could barely keep his eyes open.

“ _ He’s like us…” _

Jack was suddenly aware of someone standing over him. It sounded like Mark, but in a lower, more serious tone, his voice purring deeply as he spoke.

_ “I should be the one to do it. I think you’ve done enough damage for a lifetime, Will.” _

_ “Damage?!”  _ His voice shifted, pitching higher, the accent more slurred.  _ “You steal my house, my friends, and the love of my life, then trap me in here with you! It seems you’re the one doing all the ‘damage; around here!” _

Jack fought with his body not to move. He forced his breathing to remain steady, but inside, he was both fascinated and terrified. Through barely slitted eyelids he could see Mark sitting in the chair near the bed. It had been positioned to face him. He could see just the outline of Mark’s lower torso and the top of his legs, his hands gripping the edges tightly in the soft glow of the lights from the city below.

“ _ And he’s not like ‘us’,”  _ the one called Will added, “ _ He’s like you! You and your goddamned twisted soul! _ ”

Jack flinched at that comment, instantly offended by the idea that someone would compare him to a dark and twisted soul, and confused as to why that connection was made, and why Mark - who was the true person here - would think of himself in such a way. His eyes snapped open on instinct, and he sat up to face Mark.

“Mark, you really shouldn’t think such bad things about…” Jack had wanted to try and lure Mark back to reality- to assure him that neither of them were a ‘twisted soul’ like this personality was claiming, but his words caught in his mouth when he saw Mark’s face.

Half his face was in shadow, the depths of which were his eyes, blacked out and greyscale in the eerie half-glow of the light that barely reflected from the walls. The other half was a sharp silhouette of city glow, his other eye glowing as bright pink as the handlebar mustache that he swore had not been there before.

Mark’s smile was the worst. His lips were pulled back, teeth bared with edges that curled up in with a sinister edge that promised horrible things. Jack’s eyes widened, and his fingers dug into the bedsheets. Before he could contemplate his mistake, his best friend lunged at him. 

 


	4. Fractured Mind

Jack barely got a breath to scream before he was sent tumbling across the bed. He felt the weight of Mark land on him, and in a desperate maneuver he hooked his leg under Mark somewhere and continued to roll, using the momentum to try and launch Mark off him. It mostly worked, as Mark flew over Jack’s head, taking the sheets with him. Jack tried to dodge under the sheet to get away, but it tangled around him. Flailing wildly to get out from the trap, Jack fell off the bed landing near Mark’s feet. His head banged hard against the edge of the bedframe, sending flashes of colour through his mind.

“He’s mine!” Mark growled in his slurred voice.

“Over my dead body!” said Mark’s darker voice.

Jack didn’t have time to make sense of it. He scrambled under the bed in attempt to get to the other side. His phone was by the nightstand. If he could reach it, he could call for help! Jack strained and stretched in the darkness for the cable. Just as his fingers tangled around the charge cord, a cold hand grabbed his ankle and yanked him out from under the bed with more force than was humanly possible. The cord tangled around Jack’s fingers, pulling the phone off the nightstand and several objects with it. 

Jack kicked his legs as he was pulled out, managing to kick Mark square in the chin. Mark’s head snapped to the side, a speck of blood at the corner of his lip. He grabbed at Jack’s other ankle, and yanked him fully out from under the bed. In a desperate move, Jack threw the phone at Mark. It bounced off his head with hardly any effect. Mark’s face dropped from rage to annoyance as he paused, hands still gripping Jack’s ankles. Jack froze, confused.

Mark closed his eyes, and the colour drained from his face and body. Jack was sure he was suffering a concussion now, because Mark seemed to be outlined suddenly in red and blue, like an old video effect when the television was about to break, distorting the image.

Mark tilted his head one way, and then the other way. A loud crack was heard as if he had cracked his neck, but the sound extended. The mirror in the room shattered. The windows cracked. Even Jack’s phone that he had survived the toss suddenly fractured across the screen. When Mark’s eyes opened again, they were black as night, underlined in deep shadows.

_ “That wasn’t very nice,”  _ said Mark in a distorted, gravelly voice.

“You’re trying to kill me!” Jack shouted as loud as he could, hoping Ethan would wake up. “Mark, you have to stop! I’m your friend!”

“ _ All the more reason I have to do this,” _ the shadowy imposter replied.

The dark man lifted a hand, and a swirling black shadow slithered out from his sleeve towards the broken mirror. It picked up a shard of glass and brought it back to Mark’s hand. Jack’s eyes widened in horror. It was then that he knew this was far more than a personality disorder. Something supernatural had taken residence inside his friend. 

Jack realised that Mark didn’t have a good grip on his legs anymore. Jack twisted, wrenching his ankle from Mark’s grip in the process. He felt it pop, but he couldn’t stop. Jack jumped to his feet, pain shooting up his ankle as he bolted towards the door. To his relief, the door opened, light pouring in. He could see Ethan on the other side looking terrified.

“Jack!” Ethan called.

Just as Jack reached for hope, the darkness slammed the door shut, sending Jack face-first into the door. The pain of the impact was multiplied when Mark’s hand shoved against the back of Jack’s head. He was yanked back by the hair and slammed back against the door. Mark was grinning at him, his smile as broken and sharp as the shard of glass in his hand. He could feel the vibration of the door as Ethan pounded on it, calling out to Mark to stop. 

Mark had his hand on Jack’s forehead. Jack grabbed at Mark’s arm, using his nails to dig in as hard as he could to stop Mark. When he tried to kick, he felt something cold and incorporeal wrap around his legs, holding him fast.

“That is so gross!” Jack protested even as Mark drew the glass towards his neck. “You can’t do this! You can’t hurt your friends like this, Mark!”

“I am not Mark!” said the strange entity as it leaned in just inches from Jack’s face.

“Then who the hell are you?!”

“I have no name!” Mark growled.

“Well that’s a big fat lie!” came Mark’s other voice abruptly. His face dropped its evil expression and twisted up into something akin to a scolding parent.“Come on, Damien, don’t lie. I know you’re a mayor and all but sheesh...Poor kid…”

Mark’s demeanor suddenly changed. The strange red and blue outlined monochrome visage gave way to a shock of pink hair, and a ridiculous pink mustache that grew out of Mark’s upper lip in seconds. Jack wondered if the lack of blood pressure to his forehead had made him delusional.

“And what the hell is this?!” said Mark in his oddly slurred voice in regards to the glass in his hand. “No this won’t do at all.”

Mark… or rather Will, as Jack had heard this other personality be called, tossed the glass aside casually, then reached down into the front of his own sweatpants and searched for something.

“Ew!” Jack protested, “I’d have prefered the glass at this point!”

“Oh relax,” said Will, “I just took a shower! Everything is clean!”

Will grinned and hummed as he slid his hand out slowly, pulling a very sharp dagger from who-knew-where. Jack felt his heart sink and his stomach churn as he began to struggle yet again for his life.

“Now just relax,” he said as he drew the blade close to Jack’s neck, “Gotta get this done before ol’ Damien comes back.”

Jack whined, and once again began digging his nails in to try and stop Mark from harming him. Will reeled his arm back to stab him, but a clatter just outside the door made both of them pause. An excessively loud thump jostled the door behind Jack. Will grabbed Jack by the hair and yanked him forward just as the door rattled with another thump. In a swift move he was spun around, Will’s arm around his throat, lifting his chin to expose the soft, vulnerable flesh. The latch gave way, sending a few shards of wood across the room, and the door burst open, spilling light into the darkness. Jack could see Ethan, Wade, Bob, and the others just outside the door of the bedroom reaching for him, each of them holding a makeshift weapon in their hand. Ethan with something hard stuffed in a pillowcase, Wade with a lamp, Bob with an entire chair, and the rest of them with whatever object they could find.

Jack’s heart pounded as loud as his head, blood screaming through his veins as he tried desperately to claw at the arm around him. He had never felt so useless and vulnerable in his life. Mark was slowly backing up towards the tiny bathroom in the bedroom for more cover.

“Drop him! Let him go!” Wade screamed.

Jack’s lungs screamed for air.

“You’ve never been this bad!” Ethan cried, “You’ve never killed anyone before. Why do you want to do it now?!”

Jack’s vision began to blur, pain ripping and pulsing through his head as his feet stumbled under him.

“I just wanted a friend!” Will cried as he made it to the door of the bathroom, “I’m not letting Damien take another friend away from me! He’s mine!”

“He can be your friend,” said Bob, inching closer, “But he can’t be your friend if he’s dead!”

“You don’t understand!” Will screamed as he slipped past the doorway. “Selene! Where are you?!”

Will jerked his whole body sideways, pulling Jack past the threshold. Jack tumbled down, smacking his head hard against the ground sending waves of nausea as his throat was released. His lungs expanded and air rushed back into his body, sending wave after wave of pulsing pins and needles across his skin. Light burst all around him as the lights flickered on in all the chaos of Mark… or Will… or whomever… shoved the door shut and locked it.

“Not much time!” said the man in the pink mustache. “Damien is coming back! Selene! I need your help!”

Jack was pulled back to his feet by his hair. He tried so hard to even lift his hands, but his body was so numb that he could barely reach up. Jack slumped up against Will, and saw himself in the reflection of a mirror. He could hear the pounding of the door behind them, his friends calling out to him. In a surreal moment, Jack watched Will’s blade come up and press against his neck.

“First cut is the deepest, Jack…”

He felt the edge press in, watched as the blood began to gush from his neck. The pain shot through his whole head, and his throat wheezed as he tried to gasp for one last breath. Then the light washed out everything, and he felt himself sink slowly into the darkness. The last thing he heard was his own, distorted voice laughing from deep inside his mind.

 

_ "I've been right here... All this time..." _

 


	5. Glitch

_ “Hey….” _

A woman’s voice called to him. He thought his eyes were closed because everything was so black, but then something fell from somewhere above and landed hard with a thud just a few feet away from him. It was his body. Limp on the ground, his own body laid before him, throat cut deep and bleeding, glassy blue eyes staring up in his direction, seeing nothing.

He could not remember who he was, or who the person was before him. He only knew it was his own body.

_ “It’s not fair, is it?” _ The corpse asked, only his mouth moving.

Frightened, he tried to back away, but he realized he couldn’t move. He tried to call for help, but he had no voice, just a ripping pain in his throat.

_ “I can help…” _

It was a woman’s voice. He couldn’t see her, but a blue light shined from somewhere behind him, casting his shadow over his own corpse. His shadow moved on its own, twisting into a floating position, a smile slipping across its face, and two green dots glowing where the eyes should be.

_ “How?” _ he wondered silently  _ “I’m dead!” _

_ “It’s not the first time I’ve done this, but… if you let him in…” _

He knew the woman meant the shadow that was smiling in front of him. He watched in fascination as the shadow twitched and convulsed, small blocks of darkness showing up like glitches on a computer screen.

He remembered a name. He remembered something bad happened.

_ “Mark didn’t mean to do this!” _ he thought, knowing the woman could hear him.  _ “Please don’t let me die! I don’t want my new friend to be sad!” _

_ “I won’t let you die,” _ said the woman,  _ “But it won’t be easy. I need your help.” _

_ “What do I do?!”  _  he cried.

In response, the glitching shadow lifted from the ground and hovered in front of him. It smiled, and reached out towards him, claw-like fingers wiggling towards his neck.

_ “Well…” _ said another voice, this one like the dark entity that had been called Damien,  _ “You’re going to have to trust us. Let him in.” _

He was scared, but he wanted to live. He took a deep breath as the shadow slid towards him, its fingers digging into his neck. He felt a rip of fresh pain as the figure turned into black mist and rushed into his neck. Down into his lungs it went, and up into his head, burning and icy at the same time as it went, filling his whole body with life.

Everything went dark around him, then the darkness was pierced by a light that grew and grew until everything became bright again. With it came a sound. It was soft at first, but then it became piercing. It was a wild cry of torment. 

It was Mark, screaming.

Jack remembered who he was. He remembered everything. He was in his friends arms being rocked, held tightly. He could hear other people scrambling, hands pulling at him, hands pulling at Mark. They were trying to take him away!

Something in his mind snapped. Something reached from deep within him, and Jack snapped his arm around Mark faster than was thought possible.

Jack’s eyes opened wide, and everyone gasped and backed away. Mark stared down at him in a newly found horror. Blood covered both of them, pooled across the tile floor of the bathroom. It was all over everything.

“Jack…” Mark sobbed. “Oh no, not you,too…”

Jack grinned, and lifted up, up, and up until he was floating a few inches off the ground, blood dripping from his hands and bare feet. All their friends backed up, terrified of him. 

Jack was surging with emotions. It was as if all the filters, all the mental fortitude he had developed over the years to help him stay positive had been ripped from his system, and tainted with something darker.

The lights flickered all around him, his own blood lifting into the air, forming into cubes of warped reality that flickered through the air like corrupted pixels. His grin widening, he glared at the others.

_ “You could have stopped him!” _ Jack hissed in a warped, gurgling voice. “ _ But you just watched…” _

Jack’s eyes flickered black.

_ “...as this happened! But now he’s gone forever…” _

“Stop!”

Mark’s voice rang out loud and clear to him. He turned, and saw his friend standing there, his face streaked with tears and blood. He reached out to Jack, and said again, “Stop… it’s okay. You’re not alone, I promise. I’m still here.”

Jack felt all the anger melt away from him. He sank down slowly to the ground, dropping gently to his knees, all the energy leaving him. Mark kneeled next to him, and grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright.

“It’s okay,” said Mark. “It’s going to be okay… I’m so sorry…”

Jack looked up to Mark, scared and disoriented, pleading silently for answers.

“I’ll answer your questions later,” Mark assured him. “Right now, you need to recover, and I…”

Mark looked around at the mess, at his friends, and all the blood on the bathroom floor.

“...and I need to clean up all this blood.”

Jack wanted to ask a million questions. He wanted to fight the exhaustion that had overtaken him, but he didn’t have the heart to keep going. And with Mark’s assurance that it was going to be okay, Jack gave in to the blissful slumber.

  
  


Everyone was quiet as they cleaned up the room as best they could. Blood was the hardest thing to get rid of, but since there wasn’t exactly a murder, they didn’t suspect anyone would be looking around with a black light when the maids came in to clean.

Nobody knew what to do or say. They had all known about Mark’s “condition” for a while, and had even seen the changes, but none of them had ever known any of Mark’s egos to be quite that violent. It was rare that they even came out at all.

Mark was the quietest. His guilt was eating at him. He kept glancing over to Jack who was laid out on the bed like a funeral corpse, one of his spare shirts ripped up for bandages around his neck. He kept moving over to Jack, checking to make sure he was asleep and not outright dead.

When the room was clean, they managed to get Jack awake long enough to get him downstairs and out to the car. They had to put a scarf around his neck to prevent anyone from freaking out or asking too many questions. Mark was the one to talk to the clerk behind the desk about checking out. When she gave a weird look to the group passing with a stumbling friend, Mark just smiled and said: “Poor guy had a rough night. Drank for most of it. Girlfriend left him. He ended up getting angry and breaking a few things. I’m going to pay for the damage. I’m the one who kept feeding him alcohol anyway, so it’s my fault.”

She gave Mark an incredulous look, but she accepted the story and took his name and information down, explaining that he would receive an itemized list of the damages and cost of repairs. Since Mark didn’t put up a fuss, she and the manager let him leave.

Mark made his way out to the group who was hovering around his car with Jack tucked inside. Mark sighed and said, “I owe you guys all yet again. I still can’t believe… I’m so sorry…”

“He’s alive,” said Ethan, always the positive one. “Let’s just focus on that, okay? We’re all going to go back to your place, and we’re going to relax and have a good time and we’ll deal with this one step at a time.”

Mark agreed, and the group split up to their respective cars to get home. Ethan stayed in the back with Jack the entire ride back home. It was only a couple of hours, but it felt like a lifetime. Mark kept asking Ethan how Jack was doing. Diligently, Ethan checked for a pulse and made sure he was comfortable every single time.

When they got home, Mark hopped out of the car and opened up the back door to help Ethan get Jack out. Just as they were pulling him out, Jack’s eyes shot open, and he gasped for air, reaching up to this throat. He stood up on his own, and began grabbing at the bandages, frantically pulling the ripped bits of t-shirt off until he got to the wound.

“Jack, please!” Mark pleaded, “Be careful, you’re still….”

Jack put his hands to his throat and felt around. There was still blood on it, but underneath the black, dried bits of crust was raw, fresh skin. Not believing it, he kept feeling his neck, looking for something that wasn’t there.

“What… the hell…” Jack asked in a raspy voice.

“We heal pretty quickly,” Mark explained.

“We?!” Jack wheezed out.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” said Mark, “I’ll explain everything.”

Mark lead him into the house, explaining everything as he went.

“There are these... _ things… _ ” said Mark. “We don’t know what they are, but they are formless and nameless until they attach to a host. When they do, your mind sort of fragments into these alter-egos…”

“Like an Anti-me?” Jack asked in his raspy tone.

“You could say that,” said Mark. “These entities attach to the most dominant personality, using it to evolve. But they lay dormant inside us until they’re woken up. Usually some traumatic event happens like…”

“Like death,” said Jack.

“I’m sorry,” said Mark, stopping in the hallway of the house. “I should have told you the truth sooner. I should have let you know… I should have…”

“How did you know I had one in me?” Jack asked, waving off Mark’s guilt. “How did I even get one?!”

“I don’t know,” said Mark. “I don’t entirely know how they work. But I think they sense their kin in people.”

“Your dark… thing… inside you… knew that I had a dark thing in me?” Jack asked.

“I guess,” said Mark with a shrug. “Like I said, I don’t know exactly how this whole mess works. I just know that they know when another one is around, and they stop at nothing to bring it to life. They’re also damned near immortal.”

“Does anyone else have one?” Jack wondered. “How do I control it? Am I going to murder anyone?!”

“Easy,” said Mark, his hands up, “There’s a lot of questions, and I don’t have all the answers. I’m still learning, too. But I promise… I promise I’m here for you. I meant it when I said I was your friend… Despite the fact that I sort-of, kind-of murdered you.”

“Yeah… thanks for that,” Jack grumbled flatly.

Mark’s mouth twisted down into a frown. Jack took a deep breath, and reached out to him, patting his shoulder as he said, “It’s okay. I was really scared, but… I think I’m going to be okay.”

Mark just nodded and said, “Well… You get a shower. You’re still pretty covered in blood. I have to wash your clothes. I should have something spare to wear for a while. Are you going to be alright in here by yourself?”

“I’ll call if I need anything,” Jack assured him.

Mark nodded again, and headed back down the hallway. He paused at the edge, and said over his shoulder to Jack, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

Mark sighed heavily, accepting the forgiveness as best he could, and left Jack to clean up. Jack slipped into the shower once the temperature was good, and sighed heavily, sitting at the bottom of the tub. His mind was swirling with all sorts of questions, including questions of just how real this all was. It was too much to take in. He stayed in the shower for a long time just letting it all sink in, watching all the blood run down the drain like a classic horror movie. At one point, Mark poked his head in and let Jack know that he had some fresh clothes for him, and his phone.

Jack waited for Mark to leave before he turned off the shower. Slowly, he picked himself up off the bottom of the tub and made his way out, drying off a bit with the towel before discarding the towel and pulling on the clothes he was given. He noticed his poor phone on the edge of the sink. The face was cracked, and the battery was nearly dead.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Jack heard a strange chuckle in the back of his mind. A tingle rushed from the back of his neck, down his shoulder, through his arm, to the tips of his fingers before it jumped into the phone, causing the whole thing to glitch weirdly, a split-second image of his own face flashing distortedly across the screen before it shut off entirely. Jack was about to curse and throw his phone in frustration when the whole thing turned back on. Between the cracks he could see his power bar. It was fully charged!

“Oh my god!” Jack exclaimed, “Did I do that?”

_ “It was me!” _ he heard his own distorted voice say,  _ “It’s always me. I’m always here… always watching.” _

Jack felt a shutter run through his body. He twitched, and shuttered, and had to take a moment to steady himself. He wasn’t sure he trusted the new voice in his head, but he also felt he could control it to an extent.

His phone twitched again, and a strange message flickered across it:

 

H̴̪̘̣͑͛͋̄̔e̶̮͚̻̬̩̪̝̬̲̼͌͒͗͌̾̀͠l̴̢̳̺͎̪̱̝̤̱̹̪̫̏̉̊̆̅̑̎͆͐̕͝͝͝l̸̛̳̮͍̎̒̍̽͆̉̈͒̚ŏ̶̱̝̲̩̹̣̫̱̗̪̙̤̝̺͂̉͗̾̽͂̈́͜͝͠ ̸̧̥̜̬̞̲̍̌͑͗̌̇̒́̊͒͊̈́͒̕͘J̷͈̩͎̳͆̅̕a̷̧͎͂͒̏͂̑̓̎̎͒͘͝c̶̣̓̏̽̋̾̾̊̏͌̉k̶͖̳͊̎͐̒͒͗̓̄̅̾̃̈́̀̕͘ş̶̰̜̻̬̮͙̀̓́̊͗͗͘͜͝͠͝ę̴̭͚̙̟̮̦̗̭̥̱̲͚͈̍̑͑̔̆̏ͅṕ̶̻͖͎̠̣̹̬͕̐͒̾̐̊̈́͛͘̕t̵̨̨̢͓̭̪͙̘͇̰̩̪̥̒̔̈́̆̄̓̽̈́͐͂i̸̢̡͚͎̯̹̰̦̖͙͉͉̩̔͌̍͠ͅͅc̵̨̫̝͙͓͈̲̞̹̓̏͂̏́͐ͅe̸̠͈̭̤͊̏̿̾͜ý̵̲̗̝͊̿̂̈́́̔̓̍͝e̶̩̞̟̯͇̙͗̌̀̐̈.̸̧̢̛͙̭̩̀̓̕ͅ

  
  
  


Jack just gave his phone a smug grin, and replied back with the only name he could think to give the new creature in his head:

 

“Hello, Antisepticeye.”

 

Jack shoved his phone into his pocket, and made his way out of the bathroom. Everything seemed brighter, and clearer. The shadows were darker. Smells were more pronounced. Even sounds had a new edge to him. It was a strange feeling. He made his way past everyone who had gathered at the house, and moved towards the kitchen where Mark was busy cooking. As he came around the corner, Mark turned from what he was doing. The two shared a look, and a feeling rushed through Jack that he’d never known before. It was a strange sort of connected feeling, like he knew everything that was going on in Mark’s head. He strode over to Mark, and leaned against the counter, just grinning as wide as the fading scar on his neck.

“How are you feeling, Jack?” Mark asked.

Jack just reclined his head a bit.

“I feel just grand.”


End file.
